The following discussion of the background art is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only. The discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to is or was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application.
In the applicant's international application PCT/AU2007/000820 (WO 2007/143780), there is disclosed apparatus (described as belt filter apparatus) for treating material to separate solid and liquid components thereof. The apparatus comprises an endless elongate structure (described as a belt structure) adapted to circulate along a path incorporating guide roller structures around which the endless elongate structure passes. The endless elongate structure comprises an elongate belt portion formed of water permeable material. The belt portion has two opposed longitudinal edges. The endless belt structure further comprises a zipper for releasably connecting the two longitudinal edges together so as to form a tubular structure having a flexible side wall. The circulating path includes an assembly zone at which the longitudinal edges of the belt portion are brought together and interconnected by way of the zipper to form the tubular structure, and a disassembly zone at which the zipper is released to separate the longitudinal edges and the tubular structure subsequently opened.
The applicant has now devised an elongate structure which can be used, for example, as what is described as the belt structure in PCT/AU2007/000820 (WO 2007/143780) and which may provide improvements in construction of the belt structure, or at least a useful alternative in construction of the belt structure.